Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Make a list and check it twice

The hubby and I sat down the other night and discussed a few home improvement projects. There is a lot that we want done, but it is hard to prioritize. I'm not very good at deciphering between a "want" and a "need". I decided to make a list so we could SEE what we were dealing with.

As we started looking at the list we realized that item #2 couldn't get done until Item #3 was complete. And Item #3 could not get done until item #4 was complete. And on and on it went....we finally realized that there was definitely going to have to be an "order" in which these items were completed. And the order that we came up with is not one to make me happy. The first item on our list is the most expensive and I really, really hate big purchases.

Here is the list of things I would like to have done by the end of the year(assuming our finances allow it)

Have central air installed along with a separate furnace for our basement

Build a deck in our backyard

Install sliding glass doors in our dining room to access said deck

Install privacy fence on the one side of our backyard that does not already have it

Replace all the screens in our windows (they are all broke and/or missing)

Replace all the old mulch with new

Paint the laundry room

Paint the master bedroom

Paint one of the spare bedrooms

Install a new front door

New counter tops in kitchen

This is not even the entire list, but only the "high priority" items. I have a feeling it will be another 3-5 years before our list is completed. It's a good thing we don't have any plans of moving any time soon!

I thought about you the other night as I chased a collarless pitbull around our townhouse complex. I wanted to catch him and at least put him in our garage until morning (it was 11pm) but he was having so much fun running around he would never let me catch him. I left food and water out for him. Hopefully he went home!!! He was very sweet but a full pit (with balls) so I was afraid people would be afraid or mean to him.

You need to buy paint during sales! Do you have a Sherwin Williams nearby, or Ace? They are always running sales/promotions. It's a great time to stock up.

You can replace screens for super cheap, if you mean the actual screen mesh. I had to do it a lot when I rented in college because my dog would scratch them to bits. You can get a roll at the hardware store for way cheap. There's a great tool that makes it super simple, too.

You can get decent front doors for a couple hundred dollars, too. And the quickest way to save up for all of this?? YARD SALE!